Chief Gilbert Whiteduck’s assessment of Indian Affairs’ privatization initiative as nothing but a new attempt by Indian Affairs to assimilate Canada’s First Nations people is correct.

Indian Affairs and the present Canadian government want to erase the sorry history of land theft from First Nations by Britain and later Canada via the Treaty process.

For example, the Asubpeeschoseewagong First Nation (Grassy Narrows, Ontario), signatories to Treaty 3, while assigned to live on a tiny reserve, have always believed that they had the right to the resources on their traditional land and have never given in to resource extractors licensed by Ontario and approved of by the federal government.

To privatize the tiny reserve on which they live would be to deny their claim to and livelihood from their traditional lands and resources and allow Canada to steal what is left while extinguishing their existence as a separate nation.

First Nations people and Canadians who are their allies know better than to accept such a ‘final solution’.